The Void of the Dead
by PiperCordy
Summary: Chpt 8 is up now. Piper and Cole have a little chat. Enjoy!
1. The Dead

_Many lives I have lived_

_None of which I can remember_

_Show the Realities I have not seen_

Make it known… 

_Make it known to only me_

That's all that Phoebe could make out from the blur of her vision…then she heard Piper screaming.  

"Paige. Paige, Piper needs us."

"What? Piper? Leo can help her.  Wait. That was Piper screaming?" At that realization Paige shot out from under the covers in horror.  As the two girls raced to the living room they tripped and fell.  They looked up from the floor in unison at a pacing and now silently hysterical Piper.  Piper was red and sopping with tears, alternating between nibbling on the tip of her thumb and throwing her arms up.

"Don't you guys see them?  There are bodies…there are dead bodies everywhere. There's Phoebe a couple of times over there. There I am…Get off of me. Get off--"

"Get off of you? Piper we're not on you.  Now what is going on here lady?"

"Paige. Paige, wait, let's just see--"

Piper started toward the spot where she was saved and Prue was not.  She bent down and brushed the air as if brushing hair from a loved one's forehead, "Oh, there's Prue.  Prue, wake up.  Leo! Leo!" Piper cried, her voice shaky, but determined.

Paige and Phoebe, lifted themselves off the floor using the invisible object to prop themselves up and then walked towards Piper as Phoebe called for Leo.  She spun around to find Leo already sitting on the couch, hugging a pillow.

"She's been like this since 3 a.m.  She was just pacing earlier and then started screaming and dodging the air.  I don't know what happened. And she keeps talking about the dead bodies.  She keeps seeing Prue and…." He trailed off once he caught Piper's furious eyes. 

"_You.  You heal her right now dammit.  You heal her _now_."_

"Piper, there's nobody there.  Prue's dead.  She's gone."  Leo tried his best to sound consoling, but at this point he was coming undone himself.

"Leo, go check with the Elders and see if they have any idea _what_ your wife _did_," ordered Paige.  

"Well, you and Phoebe keep an eye on her."  Leo tried not to blubber, but his red eyes gave him away and fresh tears started to race from his eyes and rest on is shoulders.

"Just go and don't come back before we call you."  Paige demanded this of him, knowing full well that the Elders wouldn't have a clue, but she needed him out of the picture for a while.

"But Paige, what if Leo finds something out right away?  How are we going to know--" 

"I already know and Leo can't be here for this.  Just come with me to the attic and I'll--" 

"But we can't leave Piper alone.  What if she was dodging a demon earlier?"  

"Based on what she's rambling about, I doubt it was demons.  I'd say the sight of the dead bodies had her in hysterics earlier.  Now, you need to come with me _now_.  The answer's in the attic.  Just tip toe gently because there could be more dead bodies and I--"  

Before she could get her sentence out, Paige was thrown through the room by an invisible force onto the couch.  She started shaking her head in bewilderment.  A slight change came over her and she was obviously weakened by the blow, but Phoebe was making sure that Piper wasn't hit as well.

"What just happened? I was hit by something, yet it doesn't hurt and I feel like the force should have killed me."

"Well, if you're getting hit then Piper's walking in a deathtrap and she's too out of it to notice."

"Yeah, it might be demons.  Maybe there's a demon." 

"Paige, are you okay?  I thought—"

"Well, I changed my mind.  Let's go, we need to get to the basement."

"But we were on our way to the attic.  You said the answer was in the attic.  Are you sure you're okay?"

"Phoebe, I'm fine.  Now, like I said, we need to get the spell book and then head to the basement." They head to the attic, but stop halfway when they hear Piper speaking in a conversational manner.  

"What does she mean Prue's alive?"  Paige's question came with a mocking tone and a forced quizzical expression.  But Phoebe was too distracted by the notion that Prue might be alive to even notice.           

With tears welling up in her eyes, Phoebe pushed past Paige with a desperate, but empty hope that Prue might really be alive.  "Really?  I _need_ to see.  Prue! Prue--" 

"There's nothing to see.  She's not there.  Wait, what's--?"  Paige put her hand on her heart as if mocking Phoebe's concerns of the event now unfolding right in front of their eyes.

"Piper! Piper!  Paige, where'd she go?  Where'd Piper go?!"  Phoebe looked to Paige, desperate for any idea as to where their sister went.  Only, when Phoebe turned around, it wasn't Paige she saw and it wasn't Paige she heard…

"Into the void?"  


	2. The Awakened

"Seer."  Phoebe whispered the name as she slowly backed away from the image before her. 

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Piper awoke in a daze. She sat up and looked around, straining her eyes but finding no sight in the darkness.  For a moment she thought she had gone blind, but realized that wasn't the case when she turned to see a fire ablaze in the distance.  But that is all she could see.  Despite her lack of visual she could still feel.  Not knowing what was above her she decided to crawl towards the green spot in the distance.  She remembered Phoebe's stories about camp and how that seeing green in the fire was a sign of friendship.  Then she whispered to herself, "Phoebe has always been a little odd.  Boy that's an understatement.  No wait, now focus."  At that she began to crawl towards the fire.  As she crawled she thought of nothing, her mind absolutely blank for she did not want to know what the ground was made of.  She could not feel it ripping through her skin and then clotting up her wounds.  

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"Well, who were you expecting," purred the Seer.  She looked as gorgeous and as regal as she had that day in the Underworld when the power of the Source's unborn spawn had blown her from existence.  

"But, but how?  I saw you die.  He destroyed you.  There was nothing but ashes."  Phoebe was above fear, but deep in awe.  Her knees weakened beneath her as she began to kneel at her master's feet.

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Piper finally made it to the fire and found that no one or any _thing_ for that matter was there.  She was tired and confused.  She stood for the first time for what must have been an hour.  Her legs were barely able to support her, but she walked closer to the fire to inspect the damage.  She looked at her hands which were covered in ash and at her knees which were covered in blackened blood.  She didn't even think to worry about the ruination of her brand new jeans or the mess that was her formerly white t-shirt.  All she could feel or think about now was the pain.  And then all she could think about was the hideous beast that was now towering over her.  No longer alone, she could feel the heat of the fire more so now as she realized that the fire wasn't green because it was friendly.  The fire was green because of the green beast that had been resting from within it.

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"Leo! Leo!"  Paige knew her yelling was doing no good.  She had been calling Leo for what seemed like hours, but she had no idea where she was.  "Well, that's just great.  I can't orb and there's smoke everywhere.  And what is with the robes people?  Why am I talking to myself?"

"Paige, it's not smoke.  It's white puffy clouds."  Leo shrugged, "And the robes aren't so bad.  Welcome to Heaven."

"Oh my God, Leo, am I dead?"  Paige was a little disturbed by her being in Heaven.  She didn't remember dying.

"No, Paige. You're not dead."  Leo looked serious and this disturbed Paige.

"Well, what are you waiting for?  Orb us out of here."  Paige went to grab his hand, but Leo backed away.  "What's going on, why won't you take me back to the Manor.  Piper needs us."

"I'm sorry Paige but I am forbidden to help you and your sisters--"

"What do you mean me and my sisters?  Need I remind you that one of them is your wife?"  Paige was irritated by Leo's lack of action and his following the orders of the Elders.

"Paige, you need to listen to me.  This is important.  It's not that I don't want to help, it's that I can't.  My bosses have suspended my powers.  I can't orb, I can't heal.  I can't do anything but sit back and watch from up here.  I can't even guide you through the events that have been set in motion.  I have made arrangements for you to have a guide--"

"Wait a minute here buddy, what do you mean 'the events that have been set in motion'?  And what guide, I need to get back to the Manor."  Paige waited and got no response from Leo except an angry stare. "Well?" she asked.

Leo responded snippily putting us hands on his hips, "Well I hope you're finished.  Are you finished because I really need you to listen to me--"

"Well, what crawled up your--?"

"Paige, you need to be quiet and just listen to me.  My wife's life is on the line.  Now, I have made arrangements for you to have a guide during your stay.  She will inform you of everything you need to know and take you where you need to be.  Please, listen to her, it's the only way.  Prue!  Paige is ready for you."

           ****


	3. The Exposition

"Hello, Paige, I'm Prue.  Normally I would give you a warmer welcome, but we haven't much time."

"That's fine, no problem."  Paige tried to play it cool but the awe and wonderment in her face gave her true feelings away.  She had waited so long to finally meet the eldest Halliwell sister.  She was saddened that their introduction had to be under such circumstances.  She was surprised at how gentle Prue turned out to be, but was sure that not being an evil demon helped in being on the eldest sister's good side.  She thought since Prue was in a corporeal form a hug might have been nice, something that would solidify her as an official member of the family, but she saw that Prue meant business and listened to her without interruption.

"All right Paige.  I have been watching and know your status as a Charmed One.  The problem is that somehow the Seer was able to watch you guys as well.  The Elders have heard ancient prophecies that tell of a window of opportunity in which the strongest of vanquished Evils enter back into the world of the living to join forces and open the tiny hole in all of creation and undo creation.  By ripping this hole, they will not only ruin perfection, but they would also be able to create a more massive and all powerful "Underworld" in its stead.  Innyway, the Elders, didn't think anything of this little prophecy since it sounds a bit stupid.  The Elders themselves have never found such a flaw in creation and doubted its existence.  However, Evil has begun to make its move in exactly the way the prophecy stated, which has the Elders in a panic.  And this is where the Charmed Ones come in.  Before all power went out up here we saw Piper begin to write a spell, but were unable to see the incantation because we lost all visual and audio up here.  For some reason magic was lost for a moment and by the time the power came back on the spell had all ready been cast and the damage all ready done.  The Elders then got word that the Seer's essence was within the Manor's walls, invisible to all of you, even Leo.  I know that you are surprised by this news, but please, no questions until I have finished.  Now, we heard you say that you knew what it was Piper had done and we pulled you out of there as fast as we could so that the Seer could not get to you first.  Unfortunately she still found a way in as we pulled you out.  It seems that the Seer stole a few powers and glamoured into you as we pulled you out so that it seemed like you never left.  But your safe up here and we have no idea how Phoebe is down there.  We do not know the Seer's exact plan or who her army will consist of.  And even though we have a powerful "seer" of our own, he was still unable to foresee this dark time.  Even so, the scrolls are up here and that is why it took so long for Leo and me to contact you, plus walking through clouds with no sensing powers is a bitch.  But that's not important, what is though is that, after seeing that the prophecy could in fact be true, the Elders set about translating more of it.  And this is how it reads: 'For in the time of Evil's chance at power a sister of four will it devour.  In the Heavens two will wait and find an enemy within the Gates.  And in the Void of the Dead shall the second be, to meet her demise by the Awakening of the Tower of Fiery Eyes.'"  At the reading of that last line, Prue could go on no longer.  Her face was no longer stoic.

Paige watched as this instantaneous change came over her dead sister.  It pained her to see and confused her as well.  How could the Mighty Prue Halliwell be so broken?  How could she be suffering still, despite her being in Heaven?  She began to wonder if dying wasn't what she thought it was.  _Maybe it isn't a release_, she thought to herself, _maybe it's punishment for not staying alive, for failing to survive.  She thought for a moment that maybe there was a flaw in that logic because of the Whitelighters, __They are Angels.  But even they suffer.  Leo still has regrets, he still has to feel the pain of lost charges.  And should Piper not make it through this, he would suffer still.  There isn't a guarantee that she will come to Heaven, since she may already be stuck in Hell.  At that thought she felt moved to go give Prue a hug, but as she approached her, Prue moved away.  Paige was hurt by this, but didn't dare let it show, instead she began to speak, "One of the lines you read seems to refer to us.  What does it mean that there is 'an enemy within the gates'?  Am I stuck up here?"_

"Well, yeah, you're stuck up here.  And I don't know who or what the enemy is."

Paige was taken aback by Prue's bluntness and harsh tone, but then started to understand why Prue had taken such a tone.  For the reality set in that she was stuck up there and so was every Whitelighter.  According to the prophecy Phoebe would be "devoured by evil" and she didn't even fully understand what that meant.  And then there is Piper's prophesied death.  There would be no one to heal them, and no way to call upon the Power of Three to help them.  For the first time Paige felt complete despair and even though she had never met Prue, she could tell Prue was sharing this complete lack of faith for the first time as well.           

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"Stand now Ms. Halliwell.  We haven't much time," instructed the Seer. "We must move quickly, for you still have much to learn.  I once told Cole that I had a vision of me and him doing great things for the Underworld, but I lied.  For it was you I saw in my vision, and now our time has come to take our rightful place as leaders of the Underworld.  By the summoning of lives past and the lifeless bodies of those who live, the portals have been opened and the powers of the Heavens have been suspended.  No angel shall pass unto this world, a sister's betrayal has come to pass, and an ancient beast awakened.  The Power of Three I summon Thee! The Power of Three come now, breathe life into me!"

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As the beast stood taller still, Piper looked up in horror.  She could hardly breathe as the oxygen was sucked from the air.  In a rage the beast spit fire from its mouth, which allowed Piper to finally see what it was she journeyed across.  Tears came to her eyes as she saw a field of bones and ash.  And with that her fear turned to anger and anger into hollowness.  For now she felt nothing because that was the only way to survive this battle.  She honestly convinced herself that she had defeated this beast before, that she was the only one who could do it again, and that she was the only one in her life she had to do it for.  With no attachments she readied herself for battle and not a moment too soon, for the beast had now set all of its eyes on her.


	4. The Defeated

"Paige!  Paige!" 

Paige awoke to see a blurry vision of her older sister standing over her.  She didn't know why she was on her back, or why she felt so weak.  For a moment she didn't even know where she was, and she felt almost at peace.  But once her vision straightened, reality kicked in and she wished she was back in the place where she didn't remember.  But she took the wish back in the instant that she had made it, for she didn't want to chance it coming true and ruining her chance at ever meeting Prue.  She just took a moment to stare at her sister, not letting on that she was in her right mind again.  _What a vision of power and strength she is.  I could never replace such presence, nor should I try.  But I very much want to know her, if only the circumstances were better.  If only her thoughts weren't just focusing on getting Piper back.  I wonder what she thinks of me, if I've done her proud.  Who am I kidding?  She doesn't know me and I doubt that she cares to, she won't even touch me.  Look at her in all her utter despair, but keeping from breaking down even a little.  I don't want Piper and Phoebe to die, I don't want to die.  I hate that Prue had to die for me to have these thoughts, to feel for these strangers. _

"Are you all right?"  Prue stood over her sister with her hands on her hips and her head tilted to the side. "I thought you were a goner there for a moment."

Paige lifted her hand for Prue to help her up, but Prue turned away pretending not to notice.  Paige shrugged it off and just got up without assistance.  She still felt rather drained though, as if she would never feel at full strength again.  _Some assistance would have been nice.  There seemed to be a tinge of concern, so we're making progress.  Prue continued with her back turned: "Do you have any idea what might have happened to you?  One second we were talking and the next you were out like a light.  You've been that way for an hour at least, based on what I remember of time." __What she remembers of time? What?!  Paige was about to ask for an explanation, but then stopped herself, deciding to just let it all slide._

"I don't know what happened, but I feel like the life was sucked out of me for a moment there.  I felt at peace I guess, but that's only looking back on it.  Maybe I didn't feel anything at all."  Prue turned around after Paige uttered that phrase and it seemed to Paige that they had made a connection. But then Paige went on, "No, I definitely felt something.  It was this piercing pain. Must be what I felt the moment before I went into that little coma.  Never had I felt such pain," and the connection was lost.  "I think my powers are gone."

"Well of course your powers are gone.  No one has their powers up here anymore.  Magic is out everywhere."

"No.  This feels different.  I don't feel like I even have the ability for power.  I've never felt such an empty feeling before, as if a part of me is missing.  I've been stripped of my powers."  And at that, another connection was made.

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The Power of Three now resided within the Seer.  The power was overwhelming and both she and Phoebe were blown back by the force of it.  The clock broken yet again, this time the honor went to the Seer.  Phoebe felt drained and weakened, empty.  "What just happened?"  She tried to levitate herself up for she could barely position her hand on the floor to lift herself.  "Wait.  Where are my powers, I can't levitate."

"Fear not young Halliwell."  And with those eerily soothing and kind words, the Seer got down on bended knee at Phoebe's side.  And the way a mother would to comfort a fallen child she placed one hand on the back of the witch's head and another upon the knee.  "I pass to you, what is yours.  Together our visions will see all our power has in store."  As soon as the Seer hissed the last word, Phoebe jerked back, and had the most pristine premonition she had ever had.  It was in color and moved at a steady pace.  She could hear words and could return to images she didn't quite understand the first time.  It was a rush of such great power that when she came out of the premonition she was surprised to not be flat on her back, instead she was cradled in the Seer's arms, protected from the pain a hardwood floor would have brought her. 

"What did you see?"

Still cradled in the Seer's arms Phoebe lifted her head and began to speak slowly and almost to herself: "I saw such wonderful _things_, felt such wonderful _power_.  A woman was walking into traffic and got hit by a bus.  _I made it all happen.  According to what I saw, _I_ made it all happen.  It was amazing what __I could do.  Promise me that it __will all come to pass.  Promise me that _I_ will truly know _that_ power."_

"Yes.  Yes, young Halliwell.  You all ready possess that great power and now I will teach you how to use it.  The visions will get easier and you will no longer need me to keep you from harm.  First, rest my little Halliwell.  Just rest now, just rest."  She continued to sit there on the ground holding Phoebe, rocking her back and forth as she gently rubbed Phoebe's head and sang her a lullaby. 

********************************************************************************************

Piper began to slowly walk backwards, looking down only to see on what the mobile fire was shedding light, which was nothing but more and more ashes.  She had no real strategy, backing up just seemed like the right thing to do at the moment.  Then she suddenly stopped and the beast which had been matching her every step came to a halt as well.  She flashed her hands to freeze it and much to her surprise it did, she was sure that it would be immune, but it stood there frozen just the same.  She began to look around as quickly as she could, unsure when or if it would unfreeze.  But she knew in her heart of hearts that it _would_ unfreeze, keeping monsters frozen indefinitely was just a pipe dream, so it was really _only a matter of when.  As she whipped her body around she still only saw nothing but bones that seemed to form a perfect circle around her.  The ashes were like sand beneath her feet so that's what she told herself it was.  __It's just sand, Piper. It's just sand.  _

An idea came into her head to walk around to the monster to see what was located behind it. Sure enough there were tons of weapons: swords, guns, giant knives, little knives, kitchen knives, axes, etc.  There were belt buckles, and other trinkets all claimed by this beast of fire and eyes, and all useless against it.  Piper used the light to see what the beast could claim from her and saw nothing but blood and ash, _that's all it wants anyway. My blood and my ashes, she thought to herself.  Surprised that that the beast was still frozen she approached it to see if there were any weakness.  __Perhaps I could blow up the eyes. Other than that there doesn't seem to be a weak spot.  As she ran through options in her head she soon realized her mistake.  She saw one eye blink and the monster give its illusion away, for this monster never was frozen, it was only pretending.  It had seen her every move and now it had her right where it wanted her.  Piper started to step away and tried to blow up the eyes as she did so.  Then she realized that something wasn't right and she whispered aloud to herself, her eyes filled with shock and fear: "My powers are gone."_

And with that realization Piper lifted up an axe and used all her might to hurl it at the monster's head.  It landed right in the monster's neck and served as enough of a distraction for her to run into the sea of bones and ash.  She fought her way through and found that she had gotten a considerable distance away since there was not even a hint of light that could guide her.  She stumbled, but it was her last fall that counted.  She fell on her back and found herself unable to breathe, unable to even move.  She just lied there, peaceful for but an un-measurable second until a mini-geyser of blood gushed from her mouth.  

It was a familiar feeling of death taking her, her heart no longer wanting or able to keep beating.  She couldn't even think in that moment and the last vision that fell before her eyes was the beast.  No longer with an axe in its neck it was an unreal sight, the monster in flight as it was, a mixture of green and orange hues, and landing "feet" first onto the bones.  It stared at her, taunted her.  And with the light she could finally see what it was that defeated her.  It could have been an arm or a leg, whatever it was it pierced her heart.  She couldn't even bring herself to care, she didn't even remember why or if she even should.  And as the thoughts faded again, the beast got down on bended knee and the eyes watched as Piper burned and turned to ash.         


	5. The Meeting

**_And in order to get the full effect of what I'm going for: Name pronunciation fun!:_**

**Rufallo**** = Roof-ahyo**

**Demitri**** = Dem-i (like in pig) – tree**

**Dunnley****= Done-lee**

**Nortano****= Nor-tahn-oh**

**_All of these new characters listed above, including Melena, I pulled out of the air for storytelling purposes and have never been introduced as characters in the Charmedverse. Also, this story, or "flashbacks" rather, has/have no bearing in any kind of sense in history or nationality. The names are no indication of where the characters are from, I just like them, and chose to pronounce them that way. I will not be reading up on any history, the history within the context of the story is all my own made up stuff for storytelling purposes (which will really later be explored and become apparent  in future installments, I'm just giving a heads up now). If you have any questions, gripes, or nit-picks, please feel free to email me. Enjoy._**

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Phoebe awoke the next morning in her bed. Her eyes were swollen, her face puffy and red.  She looked around not knowing where she was or how she got there, but once her vision focused a little more it began to register that she was in her own room.  Everything was just the way she remembered it, but she didn't remember yesterday.  And then, of course, it all came rushing back and she remembered every detail.  Her memory fully recovered, she gleefully hopped out of bed and washed up.  After cleansing herself and dressing in a black and layered outfit laid out by the Seer, she was greeted by her new housemate.  

"Well, hello Phoebe.  I hope your slumber was enough, for we have much to do today." The Seer led Phoebe to the chair in front of the vanity and began to fix the hair and make-up of the former Queen of the Underworld.  As soon as Phoebe's hair, make-up, and outfit duplicated that of the Seer's, Phoebe shadowed her Master to the kitchen.  

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"I have located that Wicked Woman, here, on a Nexus."  A well-built and handsome man pointed to a spot on a coffee colored map. "She is there, Rufallo." 

"But Demitri, it will take months to travel there. Our sails are not suitable for travel, cousin. She made sure of that before she vanished," Rufallo's voice trailed off, still unable to comprehend or even believe what it was his eyes had seen. Rufallo was not as tall as his cousin Demitri, nor was he as handsome. In fact, there was no mistaking him for handsome at all. His nose was too crooked and pointy; his ears were like wings, and his face might as well have been made of alabaster. Most of the men made fun of his short stature, his narrow shoulders, and overall scrawny build.  "There is no angle or right hint of light that could make your boy beautiful, Melena" is what his father told his mother once, while she was serving them dinner.  He would not be the man he was at this very moment with Dimitri had it not been for his mother's whispered response, "Don't listen to Old Dunnley, my child.  Just know that I need only think of you and beauty is all I see and feel. And getting to actually see you I am blinded by it."  That night she went up to his room to tuck him in and pray, which was custom, but this time she brought a gift. "Here young Rufallo, I present you with this box, but you must promise me one thing..." Rufallo responded with an agreeing look, he would do anything for this lovely woman, "you mustn't open it until the eve of your twentieth birthday. You will know the moment when it comes."  Rufallo was confused by this and was about to question why she didn't just give it to him on that day, but she gently touched two fingers to his mouth and said, "Shhh, now Rufallo, son of Dunnley the Blacksmith of…" her voice betrayed her as it cracked and she was unable to finish her thought.  A tear streamed from her left eye as another raced down from her right, at which she turned and sped out of the room, leaving her sweet boy to know the taste of salt for the first time as he screamed her name.

"That may be so, Rufallo, but there must be a way.  I do not intend to remain trapped on this island any longer, living like an animal in this cave.  Now go and fetch young Nortano, so that the three of us may discuss the situation."

"But that is all we do."

"And it is what we will do now, so GO!  Get your hideous countenance from my sight."

Rufallo slowly turned around and headed for the side of the cave where Nortano slept.  He didn't want to wake Nortano just yet because he felt the boy needed his sleep.  So, he decided not to return with him right away, instead he sat next to the makeshift cot they built for him.  As he watched the boy sleep he remembered how it was when he was that age. Oh, to be nine years old again. It was in Rufallo's tenth year that his world fell apart, for it included the first day followed by an infinite number of days that he wished for his ninth year back. And now, his young cousin had miraculously reached that desired year, but he knew Nortano would look back on these days and wish for a second chance at life period. For, it was on his first birthday that his world collapsed as well, but he didn't know about it anyway. He didn't know that on that day he lost any chance to know happiness.  Rufallo studied the boy for a little while longer, wanting to know just for a moment what it felt like to look so angelic. He softly touched the boys red curls to gently wake him. "Come now little Nartano, your brother requests your presence." He whispered, as he lifted the boy into his arms still in between asleep and awake, and carried him over to Demitri who sat on a crate doubling as a chair in the middle of the torch lit cave.  

Even in that dull light and unshaven, Demitri was very much a handsome man.  His features were dark and strong. On his feet he stood about six feet six inches tall with broad soldiers and a perfectly chiseled body underneath his clothes.  In the sun a tint of blue could be seen in his curly black hair, which was uncommon, in any village, not just their own. Demitri had not meant to blow up at his cousin in such a way, but the current events frightened him.  He feared he was no longer capable of protecting his cousin and his brother. But even with fear in his heart, and the want to walk away, he did not, for he promised Melena and his mother, that no harm would ever come to their sons.  It was in his twentieth year that he made this cursed promise. Before then he could remember everything that had ever happened to him, everything that he ever read, or learned, anything and everything that could be a memory, filled his mind every moment of everyday. He had a capacity for memory unmatched by any in his village before or since and often won him many trinkets. And yet, even with so brilliant a memory it was never all completely clear and as he got older it all seemed to melt together, all except for one. It was early in the morning and he was headed for the field, but was delayed by his mother and Melena, who did most of the talking, "Young Demitri, your mother and I have much to speak with you about…"

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"Hello, everyone, how wonderful it is that you all could make it this afternoon.  I assume we all know what it is that brings us here.  The time has come for us to begin the search.  Time has all ready begun to run out, but there is still plenty."

"Enough with the riddles, Master, tell us the plan." 

"Seer!" As Phoebe commanded, the Seer used Piper's exploding power to rid the living room of such a rude warlock.  Killing was still beneath her, but desperate times called for such fatal measures.  Besides, what was one warlock out of the infinite amount warlocks, demons, and other evil that had taken over San Francisco that day?  And the warlock wasn't even near the most important.  There were those, of course, that no matter how rude they were could not be vanquished.    

"Now, my sisters at this moment should be unable to interfere.  My premonitions are much more reliable now, and according to them Piper is dust and Paige is stuck with Prue. Whatever, I don't care, just thought you should know.  What matters is that the plan should go forth without any interruptions.  We will travel together, but once we get to our destination, we will separate into four teams.  Team one will consist of the Seer, Tar-Tan, and I.  The captains for the remaining three teams will choose their companions.  Each team must only consist of three, everyone will understand once we get there why it all must be so. Demitri, Rufallo, and Nortano, I suggest you three choose wisely."    


	6. The Feelings of Ashes

**_More name pronunciation fun!:_**

**Exiptus**** = Eh-hip-toos**

**Tripdor**** = Trib-door**

**_Same verse, same as the first. Enjoy._**

            

                                                                        **_________________________________________________________**

Piper wanted to cry now, obviously not a possibility given her current state of being, which wasn't really being at all.  Now, this was an unfamiliar part of the death process for her.  She had always had a body to go back to, but now, she was just ashes.  And worst of all, her soul had turned to ash as well, she didn't quiet understand what it was that had happened to her, just that it couldn't possibly be normal.  

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Prue looked at Paige intensely and said, "When I died, an Elder by the name of Exiptus stripped me of my powers.  She said I had no use for them anymore and that they were needed for someone else.  I didn't understand at first, and then she told me about you.  I figured that The Elders were going to give them to you, but they never really gave me a straight answer."

"So, you think I'm dead and this Exiptus lady has stripped me of my powers.  And not only was I stripped of my powers, but they are the powers that used to belong to you."

"Well, no, not exactly. No, one is able to use their powers up here, remember? So, you could still be dead, but something must have happened—"

"Do you think this Exiptus lady might know something? Is she the enemy?"

"No, uh, Paige, she can't possibly be.  Exiptus disappeared, where to, no one knows, but we have been trying to locate her."

"Well, maybe she didn't disappear and she's just biding her time in a closet somewhere."

"No, that would be impossible to do here. Triptor, would be able to sense her if she was up here."

"Triptor? Another Elder, I assume."

"You know what they say about assuming, don't you Paige?"

"Hey, lady, I'm just trying to learn here. If, you have a problem, I would prefer that you just have out with it so that we can get it out of the way."

"You're right, I'm sorry. Triptor is actually a three-headed hound, used to help find the location of Elders.  You, see, sometimes the Elders have to operate on different planes, and Triptor is used to locate them when the other Elders need to meet with them. Triptor can even locate an Elder on this plane as well, but usually isn't needed to. I'm inclined to believe that something not of the ordinary happened to Exiptus."

"Well, hmm. Who's assuming now?"

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 _Well, if I can think in this state, maybe I **can function here. How that might work, I don't know. **__If this is really what it's like to be dead, then I don't wanna be dead anymore.  Leo! Leo! That's right I have Leo, Phoebe, and Paige. I have a family and a home. Prue, P-prue, she's dead. Maybe I can contact her somehow.  Piper was still letting all of the thoughts of her loved ones continue to flood in, the thoughts she should have been having even before she got herself into this mess.  _How could I have forgotten about my family? How could I have just let them go?_ And as she had a thought for every ash, she did not feel all of them start to float up.  She really had no way of feeling or knowing of the monster's return.  Her ashes started to float up and disperse into the eyes of the monster._

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"That is not amusing, Paige," but even as she said this, she couldn't help but give a hint of a smile.

_Hmm, more progress, I could get used to this._  "No, but seriously Prue, we need to find out what happened to this Exiptus woman, or at least find out what it was she was up to before she fell off of Tripod's radar."

"It's Triptor, and you are right.  Follow me to the offices."  Paige and Prue made their way silently through the clouds. Paige looked around and noticed all of the robed and faceless wanderers.  She wondered why Prue wasn't wearing one of the standard issue robes.  And then she broke the silence, "Prue, why aren't you wearing one of those robe thing-ys.  And what's with the black outfit?" 

"Well, I'm not into the robe thing and I happen to like this outfit.  I could where a robe, but I'm not really like everybody else up here.  It's complicated. Let's just get to the offices and I'll explain more there. What I have to tell you is difficult for some of them to hear."  Paige didn't really understand what could be so difficult, _just out with it. _Paige interrupted Paige's thoughts, "And we have reached our destination. Just enter through these doors."  Prue made a point to stare directly at one of the wooden knobs before actually turning it. Paige thought such concentration was odd to do one of the simplest of tasks. But a call came from behind them, "Prue! I have something important to tell you," and soon it was somewhat apparent as to what the concentration was for. 

"What is it Leo?!" Prue turned her head slightly, forgetting about the knob and Paige watched in disbelief or horror, she wasn't sure if there was a word for it yet.  Prue's hand became completely translucent, like a ghost, and was no longer able to make contact with the knob.

"Prue—"

"Just a minute, Paige, I need to hear what it is Leo has to say."  Prue walked towards Leo to speak with him. _What. The. Hell? What just happened here?_

Before Paige could wander over to Leo herself, Prue was all ready heading back to the doors.  "Ok, these doors lead to the offices. Go inside and ask for the location of Exiptus's old office, they will walk you to it."  Paige was a little confused. On the outside the building looked easy enough to get through. It was smaller than the Manor and had no frills.  It was a little more humble than she expected, being made of splintered wood and all. Paige placed her hand on the wooden knob and turned to look at her _sister?,_ "Prue, why aren't you coming with me? You said—you said that you were going to explain things. Besides, I thought Leo wasn't allowed to help."  

 "Paige, go. I will join you, but first I need to take care of some business with Leo. And he's not helping, just trust me on this ok? And just be glad you're not dead." Paige was confused by that statement and followed Prue's intense staring to her hand still solidly placed on the door knob. As Paige stared at her hand there trying to figure out what the deal with Prue was, the elder Halliwell had already started on her way back into the clouds.  But Paige didn't want to wait for answers, so she began to run after Prue.  As soon as she got in close enough, Paige reached to touch Prue's shoulder.  But something strange happened. Even though Prue gave the illusion of being corporeal, she wasn't really corporeal at all, for Paige's hand went right through her, and Prue didn't even flinch, or notice, she just kept walking.  Paige stood there, dumbfounded, until her mouth allowed the words she was thinking to come through, what she wanted to say all along, but it was only a whisper, not the shout she had intended, "What the Hell is going on? Is this normal?"    __


	7. The Visualization

**Author's Note: _Hi, thanks for taking the interest to read this. I just wanted to make a quick note that I use the name, Krivna, in this chapter.  I pulled it out of my mind and if it has anything to do w/anything outside of this story, then I honestly had no idea or forgot I knew. And of course, the Scrolls of Binsars aren't real, but you already knew that. And please, don't be scared by the addition of more characters in this chapter, I promise that it all has a point. This story is far from over, so if it seems that if there are dropped plotlines or lines of thought, even within this chapter alone; I assure you that they haven't been dropped, just not time to fully address them again/yet. This is a much lighter chapter and hopefully much less confusing chapter than the ones that precede it. Thanks again, and as always, if there are any questions, concerns, nit picks, ect. about the direction of the story or what exactly is going on, feel free to email me. It should be in my profile. Enjoy.  _**

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Paige snapped out of her confusion enough to collect her thoughts and entered the offices.  She walked into the front lobby which had such a low ceiling even _she _had to duck.  She turned her neck to see a man with jet black curls standing about 6 feet tall behind the front desk dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a faded green t-shirt.  She rolled her eyes and he rolled his eyes right back at her. The exchange made her giggle, especially since she hadn't noticed him noticing her until that moment. The man made his way smoothly around the desk to properly greet Paige at the door. 

"Whoa, feeling low today are we?"  He had to sit down since he was not flexible enough to bend that far down.  Paige sat down as well.

"What's the deal here? You were standing up over there just fine."

"Back there? Oh, yeah, that's because I'm feeling pretty good today. You on the other hand don't seem to be in the vicinity of happy."

"Well, no. I—" 

He raised his hand to interject, "No, no. No need to explain, I have been informed of your situation, been expecting you."

"Wipe that smile off your face mister. I don't know you and this isn't funny. My sisters…"

"Calm down Lady Halliwell. I meant no harm by it.  Look you need to stand up straight and I can help you find the information you need."

"Uh, hello, the ceiling?"

"Well, that is a problem isn't it?"

"It wasn't a problem for you when you were behind the desk. What gives mister?"

"I don't know. What gives? You tell me."

"Look I don't have time for this. Could you please take me to Exiptus' office? Thanks."

"Well, I would love to, but having a bit of trouble getting around here."

"Well, then we can just crawl over to the desk area and get this mess straightened up. Ok?"

"Sure, lead the way, Paige."

The two started to crawl toward the desk, but the closer they got the closer the ceiling seemed to get as well.  Paige was about to speak, but her thoughts interrupted her mouth: _ Wait.  This seems a lot like magic to me._

"No, it's not," offered the man.

"It's not what?"

"Magic. It's not magic. It is how magic exists. It is the doings of your mind. This place--"   

"Whoa! Hold on a minute here buddy. You just read my mind, didn't you? That is terribly invasive."

"You don't seem shocked."

"Not much to be shocked about these days. Anyway, what you were saying doesn't make any sense. And by the way, I haven't caught your name."

The man stared at her for a bit. Once he collected his thoughts he began to speak, "My name is Ozzie.  And no, what I said doesn't make much sense, does it?  But that doesn't make it any less true. You can't say something's not possible just because you don't want to believe it is. And the truth…?  The truth is just a string of words. So, I won't tell you the truth, I'll just tell you to look around and see what it is that you can't see, simply because you're not allowing yourself to see it."

As he spoke, Paige soaked in his every word. She had a terrible time making any sense out of them, but figured him wiser than she.  Rather than questioning his logic, seeing as he offered no new information, she went ahead and said nothing. She did look around though. As she did this, she saw that the two of them were at least able to sit down on the floor, but the ceiling was still too low for them to stand up.  Then she realized what Ozzie had been hinting at all along.  She had to feel and know that she could find her way back to her sisters. At that moment, Paige felt a sudden burst of energy and she jumped to her feet.  She looked around and saw an awesome display of knowledge surrounding her.  There were shelves and shelves of books, new and old. There were ancient paintings and various wall hangings covering the surface of crimson walls.  She wanted to read all of the books and explore all that the place had to offer.  

"Seductive, isn't it? This here is Exiptus's office. There are other offices, but none as magnificent as this. She is the _only Elder to build an office though. Most of them prefer to walk aimlessly or convene for meetings in their meeting place out there."_

Paige was half-listening to Ozzie as her eyes continued to look about in wonderment. Then she said breathily half to herself and half to him, "Wow, this must be Heaven."

"Well, no, not quite.  This is but a level, but not "_The Heaven", not by a long shot.  And boy, would I love to see the offices there.  You see, Paige, the only way to get there is to earn it to accept all that there is to accept.  You still have time left for you yet.  Your journey is not yet ended. Just think of Elderland as the second line of defense. You and your sisters being the first line, of course."_

She responded, hands on hips, "Well, all right then, mister, let's get to work then.  I have sisters to save!"

"I'll leave you to your own devices then.  Feel free to look around. I'll be at the desk in the lobby if you need anything."

"But wait, how do I get back to the lobby? I don't remember walking from there to here. And how do I search? There is so much here to look through."

"Things are what they are Paige, you can't change that.  _The Eyes can only see what is there; nothing more, and nothing less. And all things and shades exist, even if __you can't see they're there."  And at that, Ozzie disappeared, leaving no time for Paige to ask for clarification._

She decided not to think too much about what he had just said and made her way into the maze of shelves.  She climbed ladders and staircases. She didn't know what it was she was looking for, exactly, but figured she'd know when she found it.  And that's when it hit her.  A tome for no apparent reason fell from on high and smacked her right on the forehead.  She nearly lost hold of the ladder, but was able to maintain her grasp as she dizzily made her way down.  Once she reached the bottom, there it was.  The very thing she wanted, no, the very thing she _needed_.  She lugged the book to a nearby table and sat down to read it.

It wasn't in English. _Figures.__  Now, hmm. Think. Think. Think. Ah. Well, it's worth a shot. "This book is in English. I _can _read this book." At that, the book started translating itself. Cleaning the dust from the pages and reprinting in fresh ink.  Obviously the English translation of the book was one that wasn't read as often as whatever language had been used last. __Interesting.__ How is that not magic again? Once the new translation filled the first page, the witch began to read it silently to herself._

_Before the Age of Man, Monsters walked the Earth. Not Monster of Fairy Tales and Folklore, but Monsters of Sin. For the word, 'Monster' is nothing. It is just that, a word. _

_And lacking a better one, in any language known by this Old Soul, or any language known by even the Monsters of Today, the word 'Monster' will have to suit. For the true name of such Great Beasts have since been erased by the Passage of Time and none live that ever saw one face to face. Once thought to be extinct, are now found in the closing of One's eyes. A green Towering Beast of Fire and Eyes protects what once roamed free, setting aflame those who dare to enter its Playground. Only then will it find Perfect Shelter in the Imperfect Vessel. _

_ The end is near for all who fear the Darkness. Those who take Its side will know no limits. For the Supremacy of Night over the Weakness of the Day will eclipse all Light for the Protection of Destruction._

**_-The Scrolls of Binsars as Recorded by Krivna Before the Age of Man_**

"Whaddya got there?!!"

"Oh, Prue, you scared me," said Paige with a jerk and a hand to her heart. 

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya.  I was saying your name with an inside voice and got no response. You must have been really concentrating. Trouble translating that funny writing?"

"No, actually, it's in English. Look." Paige tilted the book a little so that Prue good get a better look at it.  

"Um, no, still a little funny looking. Not English. Are you all right?"  Paige looked down at the book and saw what it was Prue saw. The book was no longer translated.

"Well, it was before. You should have seen it. It translated _itself_, Prue.  It was in English. Here, just think real hard, really wanna see it in English. And bam!"

"That's weird. I thought there was a power outage." Prue started to get angry and was about to go give the Elders a piece of her mind when Paige stopped her…

"No, Prue.  Wait, it's not magic. I can't really explain it now, but this is more important at the moment."

"You're right. We should just be happy that we can read it. Now let me read it."  Prue read the passage. "This doesn't make any sense. This down here says the passage was written 'Before the age of man.' How is that possible?"

"Oh, and look at this sentence here: 'Only then will it find perfect shelter in the Imperfect vessel.' What will and what vessel? There's no mention of it elsewhere in this particular passage. And then there's the sentence to sentences before it."  Paige ran her index finger, along the page to point the sentences in question out to Prue.

"I don't think this is the whole passage, Paige. There seems to be pieces missing."

"No, I don't think so.  I think this Krivna guy or whatever spelled everything out. He just didn't spell everything out the way we would have like him to. Thoughts, Prue?  Prue?"  Paige got no response and turned to see where Prue had gone. It seemed as if her elder sister had just vanished.  Paige stood up and began to walk back into the maze of bookshelves when something caught the corner of her eye. _Now, I know that door wasn't there before. She walked over and opened it.  The door opened into a room about the size of Piper's closet. Inside the room Paige saw Prue, Ozzie and a woman in Elder garments, and a three headed dog.  They were inside in suspended animation. _Ozzie?__

"Well, not quite," said a voice that sounded like Ozzie's.  Before Paige could turn around and question the moment she felt a quick and sharp pain in her back. She looked down to see blood seeping through her clothing.  "His name was Brad or some such silly name.  I thought _you _might prefer talking to someone named Ozzie, is all. Thought it might be fun."  Paige fell to her knees, clutching her stomach, still unable to gather the strength to turn around, leaving her to listen to a faceless and now nameless voice.  "Well, with those four nuisances out of the way, I am able to have you all to myself. Silly Leo. Silly Elders and Whitelighters, all around, really. Not helping their charges because of silly rules.  Riddle me this Paige! If they aren't allowed to help you, then _what is_ their purpose? Poofs.  Now, these four, they're not so easily fooled.  Oh, I'll be needing that athame back now. Thank you."  Paige felt new pain as the knife exited her body. She fell forward partly into the room where her sister, the two strangers and the dog were. "Nuh-uh-uh. I need you out here."  The man grabbed Paige by the ankles and pulled her out of the doorway so that he could close the door.  Paige could feel herself dying along with the pain.  "I punctured your kidney. You should die slower that way, or so I'm told.  Just in case I needed it, I went ahead and tipped the athame with a little poison from a darklighter friend of mine."

Paige managed to get out a few sounds, but nothing in the form of actual words, although they were words in her head.  She still hadn't been able to see who the perpetrator was and tried to lift herself up.  She could not though, for she was unable to gather strength in her arms enough to actually move them.  "Need some help there Paige?"  The voice sounded even more disgusted by her now and started spitting out more words, "Every time you close your eyes, there I'll be." _I can't even see you. How will I know it's you I'm seeing? _"Getting smart now, aren't we Paige?  Not wise, but I all ready have the upper hand.  You can't change what is. Are you ready to see Paige?!" His voice then became a haunting, sinister whisper and Paige could feel it's breath on her ear, "Are you ready to see what nightmares are really made of?" At that, talons dug into her arms and she was roughly turned to face her tormenter.  She stared right into his crimson eyes and then saw that he was no longer a man, but a beast.  A beast, red with the texture of rusted metal and about 17 feet tall she had only seen when she closed her eyes.  _But how…Oh, God.__  "No," growlingly whispered the monstrous mouth, "Kriiiiivvnaaaaaaaaaa!"_

The blood loss, the poison, the pain, the sight of the Beast, it all finally caught up to Piage and she fainted.  Her eyes now closed, she began to dream.  No, it was nightmares.  The first images that entered her mind weren't familiar ones.  They were of three men, boys really, battling as a strange looking man and the Seer watched with wicked interest.  She didn't get to see much of what was going on since the scene quickly morphed into various images of what could only be the past, before it settled on the only image familiar to Paige up to this point.  All of what she had seen had now morphed into, the Manor.

Inside the Manor, she saw everything that Piper had seen that fateful morning.  She saw what had driven Piper mad.  The bodies, all of the bodies from every time one of them died.  She saw that she and Phoebe had tripped over Piper's body that morning.  She saw the reason that there would be a body there, but Piper's body shouldn't have been there.  It should have been in the sunroom.  She saw herself being taken out of the situation and the Seer in her form taking her place.  Then, she saw why Piper's body was where it shouldn't have been.  There was a hairy figure running around the manor, changing the position of the bodies.  Then she saw it attack Piper from behind and disappear with her.  But she couldn't understand why Piper wouldn't pay the creature any mind. She made demands of Leo and she let her guard down, but never really put it up anyway.  Paige's mind then moved on to Phoebe at the stairs. She saw Phoebe pledge allegiance to the Seer and lose the Power of Three.  That moment immediately knocked her mind to where Piper had ended up, all alone.  She saw her elder sister run from the Beast and then she saw her sister's defeat.  She saw the ashes rise in to the Eyes of the Beast.  Then she saw the ashes reform into Piper, except, Piper wasn't in the darkness anymore. Piper was walking down the sidewalk of Prescott Street, heading toward the Manor, all covered in soot.  Only this time Piper wasn't alone. She was being followed.  Paige's mind whispered in long drawn out breaths, _Piper. Cole._

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	8. The Doomsday Chat

**Note from the Author: _The following makes mention of mythology/religion. What is said is not meant to be said as absolute/accurate truth.  It is bits and pieces used to further along the story and make it that much more difficult to follow. I am trying to keep the story as much in the true spirit of the show as possible. Thank you for taking the time to read it. As usual, if you have any questions or nit-picks, please feel free to email me and/or leave an honest review. Thanks and Enjoy._**

Piper walked the sidewalk right outside of Halliwell Manor.  She was wearing jeans that were no longer torn, a simple black t-shirt, and her wounds had been healed. Well, the shirt was black because for some reason that she couldn't remember, she was covered in what must have been some sort of black dirt. She didn't walk in her normal way rather she walked slowly with her arms folded, as if it were cold outside. Her rhythm was slow and unsure. The place seemed familiar enough, but she didn't know how she got to this point, so she thought it best not to rush, even though daylight made her all that more conspicuous.  She was about to turn and walk up the steps leading to the house, but she felt a strange gust of wind and heard a whisper she couldn't quiet make out.  She turned around to see if she could find the origin of the muted sound. Much to her surprise she turned around to find a tall and handsome man wearing a black suit with a red collared button up and extremely nice black shoes.  _Cole. _

She turned to run further down the sidewalk, not sure as to why she didn't just run up the path to the house.  Cole started after her, yelling, "No!  Piper, wait, let me explain."  Piper didn't miss a beat, she just kept running.  Despite her head start, Cole caught up to her fairly quickly, grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.  He spun her around to look at him, both of their faces covered in sweat, due to the intensity of the sun, as well as the intensity of the moment. Too frightened and inexplicably weak, Piper couldn't speak or struggle.  She just stayed there in Coles grasp staring at him as he pleaded, "Piper, please, let me explain.  Piper! Piper! Piper." The vision of Cole grew fainter as did his words, until finally Piper just passed out.  Cole held onto her and then lifted her into his arms and walked across the street.  

*************

About an hour had passed before Piper started to slowly regain consciousness.  She awoke to find herself on a hardwood floor in an empty living room.  Her head fell to the right and she saw a white wall. Then she turned it to the left and saw a blurry vision of a man sitting on the floor with his back against another white wall.  Cole saw her awaken and slowly stood up to make his way to her.  As he got closer, Piper could clearly make him out and jolted herself into a sitting position.  The quick motion caused Piper to have an intense pain throb through her head. She thought it was going to explode.  Cole squatted down next to her and put a hand behind her in case she fell backwards.  

Piper had both hands on her head now, hoping that that would make the pain stop.  She began to speak, "Ok, what do you want? Man, my head is killing me.  Is this pain ever going to stop?!"

"Piper…Piper, you need to listen to me right now.  I can help you."

"You can help me.  You, can help me?! You're evil!"

"No, I'm not, and _you_ know that."

"Yeah? And what makes _yooouu_ so sure of that?"  Piper finally took her hands off her head and used them to prop herself up in order to look Cole dead in the eyes.  Seeing Piper made a rapid and full recovery, Cole quickly snatched his hand back from behind her, since he quite liked it firmly attached to his wrist.

Then he spoke, calmly, "Because I don't exist independent of you; I am here because of you."

"Well, you're crazy because, I'm Piper, _not Phoebe."_

"You're right I am crazy. But right now you are the only one who can help me…"

"What?...Get Phoebe back? We've been through this before _Cole_. It just isn't meant to be—"

"No, I need you to help me save my father's soul!" He surprised himself as his words echoed through the empty room.  Piper looked to him stunned, with her mouth agape. Cole stood up and spun around, his left hand on his hip and his right hand rubbing the back of his neck.  Piper stayed sitting on the floor, slowly averting her eyes to study the cracks in the barren floorboards. The two of them stayed lost in thought for about two minutes before Cole broke the pensive silence.

"I didn't mean to startle you. I'm sorry."  He finally turned to face Piper again.  Piper pushed herself up off the ground and put both hands on her hips. With a serious countenance she leaned forward a little, her hair falling, but not in her face, to ask the only question she could think to ask, "_What_ _in the hell, are you talking about?"  _

Cole proceeded to explain by waving his arms, "I'm talking about me helping you in exchange for _you_, helping me," flashing a charming smile at the end.

"_Dammit__!  You really are insane. Look, I don't have time for this. More to the point, where am I, and why am I here? Where're Paige and _Phoe_-be? If you did anything to harm them, I swear," Piper threatened pointing her right index finger in Cole's direction.  _

Cole jumped back and through his hands in the air, "Whoa there partner, I surrender," then he got very serious and towered over her, "Watch where you point that thing. We wouldn't want anything _explosive to happen."   Piper quickly realized what he meant and then turned the finger on her, studying it sadly, "It doesn't matter. My powers don't work. At least, I don't think they do. I remember not being able to use them, but I don't know, why." Piper stayed staring at her finger then lifted her head to find Cole still towering over her. She saw fire in his eyes and began to hyperventilate. She was beginning to remember._

All of the images of what she had been through previously came flooding into her mind.  She saw the events of the previous morning, her time in the dark place, the towering monster of fire and eyes, and her body turned to ash. She saw the journey her ashes took from the ground of bones to the eyes of the beast and how they settled on a sidewalk to reform her body.  There was no one around the neighborhood was completely void of people. All that existed to witness the strange goings on were dusty vehicles and abandoned houses. She then remembered the familiar whisper, seeing Cole and making a run for it. It all came full circle in her mind, the images ending once she reached her current state.

"Piper, you were screaming, what's the matter?"

"I saw everything. I had to feel all of it again. It was so painful.  How could I be so cold?" Piper couldn't fight the tears anymore she began to have the catharsis she had been denying herself since she landed in the dark place.  Cole guided her to the floor and sat there holding her for what must have been at least an hour as she told him everything through her sobs.

*************

"Cole, where are we?"  Piper asked, now calmly sitting opposite Cole on the hardwood floor.

"Oh, this is the Manor. Don't you recognize it?"

"Why is it empty?"  
"Oh, I haven't gotten around to furnishing it yet."

"I don't understand."

"Oh, you will, in time, of course, mustn't reveal too much now.  I have to prepare you for what's to come.  Since you have no powers that means Phoebe and the Seer are right on schedule. I imagine that the Shadow will be released shortly."

Piper's eyes grew and she jumped to her feet, waving her hands accusingly at Cole, "What?! Why would Phoebe be working with the Seer? I knew it, you're still Evil!" Cole slowly rose to his feet, but stayed a good distance away from her so that she would not feel even more threatened. "No, Piper, I'm not Eeeeeevilllll. I told you, I am here to help you and ask one big favor of you. If you don't want my help, there's the door. But, I guarantee, all that you'll find is a ghost town.  With the sun going down now, it will be a rather unfriendly one at that." Piper gave in, seeing as she still couldn't wrap her mind around her current situation and since Cole hadn't killed her yet, she figured that it wasn't on his agenda.

"Fine, well, start talkin'."

"That's the Piper we all know—"Piper cut him off with a wicked side eye.  "Fine, fine, here's the deal.  You and your sisters are closer to death than you ever have been before. It turns out that the Underworld has caught wind of an imperfection in the Universe.  Mythology speaks of a Creator, an Infallible Creator, to be more accurate.  I assume you have some knowledge of the Bible," Piper gave him a look, "thought so. Anyway, in it there is an account of a man receiving commandments from this Creator.  One of them is that he is not to worship any god besides him. Now, that wording suggests that there are other gods, of which the Creator is to remain supreme. Makes sense, I mean, he did create the _Universe and humans, right? Well, of course this isn't going to sit well with the other gods, but none were more upset than one by the name of Krivna.  Krivna, of all the gods is the only one that is Evil.  He tried banding all of the gods together to destroy all of what, the Creator, or Yahweh, to be more accurate had done.  The other gods would have none of it, for they did not turn jealous…Is something wrong?"_

"No, I'm just having a hard time. Do you mean to tell me that Zeus and the like were not jealous gods? I mean…"

"No, they're not the gods I'm talking about. They're a whole different ballgame. The gods I speak of are the ones demons fear.  Now, Yahweh granted the gods, who did not betray him, the highest seats in heaven. There are three levels to Heaven: the planets, Elderland, and Heaven itself. Don't get too upset just yet, I assure you that the Elders aren't gods, nor are they and the whitelighters angels. Angels are just winged gods. With that said, the Bible later goes on to tell of a man named Jesus. History does account for his existence, what is unsure about Jesus is whether or not he was indeed the son of the Creator. Not even demons know for sure either, but what is certain is that he was indeed an agent of Good, the catch all word for the Creator and his team of gods and elders. Nothing Jesus did was entirely unheard of, such as the healing and whatnot.  What upset Krivna the most was the man's supposed sacrifice in the name of the Creator. Never had any of his "creations" been such loyal servants, causing him to anger and turn against the various demons he had created. One of those demons, he had not realized, had grown to a strength that was able to stop him, thus causing Krivna to keep a low profile, so to speak.  Long story made long, that strong demon became the first Source. Not, the Devil, mind you, that would be Krivna, but the Source of All Evil. Of course that's human language, the demon words are more accurate so I've heard, but nobody bothered to remember them and all."

"Yeah, but why Phoebe and the Seer, how did the Seer come back?"

"Demons, no matter what faction or level are told of a time when the strongest of each will be able to return from a vanquished state in order to find the flaw in reality or the universe, whichever word works. The catch though, is that demons don't know on which level of Heaven the flaw exists. The Seer is sure that it exists in the Manor, and Krivna is sure that it exists in Heaven, the highest level. But first Krivna has to breakdown the defenses in Elderland in order to reach it."

"Well that shouldn't be too hard."

"Unfortunately, it isn't. This isn't a joke Piper and it's not time to be petty. I suspect Krivna has found his way."

"What will be gained by all of this, so what if there is some flaw? And why doesn't the "Creator" just destroy Krivna?"

Cole put his head down, unable to look Piper in the eyes, "As much as you thought about killing Phoebe when she became Queen of the Underworld, you didn't.  I assume you could answer your question better than I could."    

"I see. Well, how do we stop it all from happening? How do we fix the flaw?"

"Not, we Piper, _you_," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And you can't stop any of it. It is all going to happen just as it was foretold. The pieces are already in motion.  What you must do is fix what happens after.  Phoebe and Paige are going to need you more than ever. Even Prue is in danger, no one, living, dead, or undead are safe." Piper had a hard time finding the right reaction. Never had anything of this magnitude been placed squarely on her shoulders.  She couldn't cry or get angry she just stood there and kept asking Cole questions. What else was there to do?

"But, um, why am I _here_ then? This obviously isn't the real Manor. And why would _you be here and not, say, Leo?"_

"Ah, yes.  Well, this _is very much the Manor. This is the Manor that would have been had you and your sisters decided to leave. It remains empty for no one could call it home. As you can see, no one exists, only the evil in the darkness.  Not living here caused the prophecy to happen sooner, left you guys vulnerable, as well as the entirety of the human race.  The sun still rises to preserve balance, taking it away would have left Krivna with nothing. I don't understand the reasoning there, but I'm not a god."_

"Yeah, but if it happened here then why not in all of possibilities?" 

"Because, it's not real, just a simulation, of sorts. The practice run, the answer to, 'what if.'  Only the actual possibility holds tangible consequences.  You can access the actual from here, once it is time.  No one real exists here, except for you."

"And you."

"No, like I said, I'm only here because of you. This is a place of answers, I have them, and you knew I would."

"But you said that you hadn't gotten around to furnishing the place, I just assumed you lived here."

"Oh, yeah, that. Well, I was just pretending. I remembered that you had called the Manor my home once.  It was a simple and passing moment, probably hadn't even really realized what you'd said or what it had meant. I just wanted to believe that it was still so. But no, once you leave, I return to wherever it is I came from. I have no idea how I got here, just why. You must be a pretty powerful witch."

"Impossible, I have no powers."

"Power is infinite and eternal.  You _survived _the Void of the Dead, Piper.  _You have more than the powers that were taken, you just have no idea.  I'm here to help you figure them out."          _


End file.
